It’s been 12 years for the reason that announcement of Star Citizen, the ludicrously bold and equally ludicrously overfunded area MMO from developer Cloud Imperium Games and designer Chris Roberts. For a few of that point there was a professional query of whether or not there was any sort of recreation there in any respect, however that spectre has lengthy been laid to relaxation and the factor is presently in an alpha for model 4.0: The query now could be whether or not, in any case this money and time, it’s going to be any good.
The New Year has introduced forth a brand new “Letter from the Chairman” to Star Citizen’s devotees, during which Chris Roberts hits just a few acquainted notes earlier than introducing 2025’s large theme for the sport: Playability. Stop sniggering on the again. We’ll get to the precise content material that CIG hopes will make a distinction quickly, however as Roberts acknowledges efficiency and stability stay sizeable points for the sport:
“The sentiment lots of you may have shared—and one we wholeheartedly agree with—is that if the present recreation, because it stands in the present day, ran easily with fewer obstacles and bugs, it might present an unparalleled expertise.”
Roberts says they’ve tried numerous approaches over time to bettering issues, however have struggled to steadiness this with introducing new options and expertise to the sport, and have every so often ended up with “unintended ripple results—creating instability, hindering efficiency, and impacting total gameplay.”
So the brand new method is to hive-off characteristic growth fully from the continuing work of content material creation and basic fixes. New options that require testing will get their very own experimental and remoted channel and will not be built-in with the complete recreation till “totally greenlit.” Roberts claims, and this did slightly elevate an eyebrow, that the developer has previously “ceaselessly been held hostage by tech or characteristic work that has taken longer than anticipated.”
Roberts then goes on a slightly unconvincing rant about large publishers which, a dozen years after he made extra money than Croesus from a recreation he hasn’t delivered but, feels slightly bit off.
“Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are two video games that will by no means have been greenlit by any of the large publishers,” says Roberts. “They are each too bold, and in a style that up till just lately was seen as area of interest. They require endurance and funding that I doubt any writer would have the abdomen for. Yet right here we’re, because of all of you!”
I’m pretty certain that publishers have actually greenlit numerous area MMOs and FPSs, however no matter: People are to date within the gap on this one which I suppose it must really feel particular. But naysaying like that’s precisely what this venture thrives on. “Server Meshing is now not a query mark, however a actuality,” says Roberts, “and seeing the outcomes of a extra densely populated universe, in addition to higher efficiency and stability—we’re nearer than ever to realizing a dream many have mentioned is unattainable.”
Roberts is right here referring to 4.0’s new “server meshing” backend, which now sees gamers “navigating seamlessly by a mesh of servers that encompasses the complete recreation. Each planet, touchdown zone, or main station is now coated by completely different recreation servers. Thanks to this expertise, server boundaries are successfully invisible, even at our excessive ranges of constancy, guaranteeing easy, uninterrupted gameplay.” Roberts lists additional advantages comparable to crashes being localised to small areas, and improved efficiency thanks to every server simulating fewer entities. The major profit to gamers is that every server can now deal with 500 gamers without delay, versus 100.
This all comes alongside some substantial additions in 4.0, primarily the brand new Pyro star system, which is made up of six planets plus dozens of outposts and bases. But notably absent from Roberts’ letter, past a fleeting reference to the roadmap, is Star Citizen 1.0: The full launch of the sport.
Roberts beforehand claimed server meshing was the final large technological hurdle and, as soon as it was in place, the crew was setting sail “for Star Citizen’s personal end line… Star Citizen 1.0 is what we contemplate the options and content material set to signify ‘business’ launch. This implies that the sport is welcoming to new gamers, steady, and polished with sufficient gameplay and content material to have interaction gamers constantly. In different phrases, it’s now not Alpha or Early Access.”
Those phrases are from March 2024. Almost a 12 months on, Star Citizen stays in alpha and early entry. But I’m certain 1.0 is coming quickly.
